10-foot great whites circle kayaker off California coast — and drone video captures it all

Great white sharks circle Nicolle Otman as she paddles in a kayak in the waters off New Brighton State Beach near Aptos in Santa Cruz County on June 23, 2018. Giancarlo Thomae/Sanctuary Cruises

Great white sharks circle Nicolle Otman as she paddles in a kayak in the waters off New Brighton State Beach near Aptos in Santa Cruz County on June 23, 2018. Giancarlo Thomae/Sanctuary Cruises

Giancarlo Thomae has never seen more great white sharks in the waters off Santa Cruz County than he has in 2018. And the toothy predators he's spotted are bigger in than years past.

"Four years ago, we would see about 10 sharks and they were about 8 feet long," Thomae told The Tribune on Wednesday. "Now we are seeing about 25 sharks a day and they are anywhere from 10 to 13 feet."

Thomae used a drone to capture heart-stopping video of a group of large white sharks circling a kayaker close to the shore of New Brighton State Beach in Aptos on June 23.